INTERNACIONAL
Spanberger quiet on twin controversies in final stretch of Virginia race
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With just weeks left before Virginians head to the voting booth, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger has been rattled by twin controversies — a violent text message scandal involving a fellow Democrat and fresh criticism over her stance on transgender bathroom policies.
In 2022, Virginia state attorney general candidate Jay Jones told a colleague via text that he wished violence against former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children. The private messages, which recently came to light, have sparked outrage from Republicans and discomfort among Democrats, forcing Spanberger to navigate one of the most volatile moments of her campaign.
‘CONSUMED WITH HATE’: WINSOME SEARS, JASON MIYARES UNLOAD ON DEMOCRAT JAY JONES OVER VIOLENT TEXTS
Spanberger’s cautious tone carried into last Thursday’s debate, where she faced off against GOP nominee Winsome Earle-Sears.
«Jay Jones advocated the murder — Abigail — the murder of a man, a former speaker, as well as his children who were 2 years and 5 years old. You have little girls. Would it take him pulling the trigger? Is that what would do it?» Earle-Sears asked Thursday night. «Please ask him to get out of the race. Have some courage.»
She sidestepped several rounds of questions throughout the debate on whether she still endorsed Jones.
Spanberger’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
A split of Winsome Earle-Sears and Abigail Spanberger. (Pool / Getty Images)
Meanwhile, fellow Democrats have rallied around Jones, emphasizing forgiveness and unity as the campaign enters its final stretch.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was also unwilling to call on Jones’ to drop out. He told Fox News Digital he’s still a supporter of the embattled candidate for his state’s attorney general seat.
«I think those statements were not in character, and he has apologized — I wish other people in public life would sincerely apologize for stuff,» the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee said. «I’ve known Jay Jones for 25 years.»
VIRGINIA DEMS BACK AG CANDIDATE JAY JONES, DESPITE TEXT MESSAGES
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., did not respond when Fox News Digital repeatedly asked whether Jay Jones should end his campaign. Warner was also pressed on whether he would seek the return of a $25,000 August donation from Jones or express regret over the show of support, but once again declined to respond.
Jay Jones, who is running to become Virginia’s attorney general in 2025, has come under fire for a series of text messages calling for the death of political opponents and remarks about police officers. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
After the texts came to light, the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee moved quickly to defend Jones, urging Virginians to «line up behind» him.
«We are lined up, ten toes down, ready to organize, mobilize and deliver voters for Jay and our entire Democratic ticket,» the statement read. «Recent press may have spotlighted past mistakes. We say, let those without sin cast the first stone. Jay Jones has taken responsibility, apologized and shown he is committed to serving with integrity and accountability that his public record already shows.»
Jones has since apologized, calling the remarks «embarrassing and shameful,» and said he had reached out personally to Gilbert and his family.
DEMOCRATS UNDER FIRE FOR STANDING BY VIRGINIA AG HOPEFUL WHO JOKED ABOUT SHOOTING GOP RIVAL
Last week, President Donald Trump called for Jones to drop out of the race, calling the text messages «sick» and «demented.»
«Democrat Jay Jones should drop out of the race immediately and the people of Virginia must continue to have a great attorney general in Jason Miyares who, by the way, has my complete and total endorsement,» Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Oct. 5.
The latest revelation comes amid heightened political tensions and a growing number of incidents that have fueled concerns about violence in national politics.
‘NUDE MEN IN LOCKER ROOMS’: EARLE-SEARS BLASTS SPANBERGER OVER TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM STANCE IN HEATED DEBATE
Abigail Spanberger’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
On a separate issue, Spanberger has also sidestepped her stance on transgender issues.
Earlier this month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive directive ensuring bathrooms, locker rooms and other intimate spaces remain separated by sex assigned at birth. The directive also instructs the state Board of Health to bar biological males from competing on female athletic teams.
When asked, point-blank, whether she would rescind that directive, Spanberger refused to give a definitive answer.
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«My answer is that in each local community decisions should be made between parents and educators, and teachers in each community. It shouldn’t be dictated by politicians,» Spanberger responded. «I’m a mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools, and nothing is more important to me than their safety and their experience in schools,» Spanberger added in response to questions about her stance on transgender issues.
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
virginia governor race,virginia,abigail spanberger,winsome sears
INTERNACIONAL
More Democrat reps involved in ‘refuse illegal orders’ video report receiving inquiry from US attorney
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Three more Democratic lawmakers who participated in a video message encouraging service members to «refuse illegal orders» said they are being investigated by federal prosecutors.
Reps. Jason Crow, of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan, of Pennsylvania, and Maggie Goodlander, of New Hampshire, all indicated Wednesday that they received inquiries from U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro asking for an interview with them or their attorneys, according to The New York Times.
«Trump’s political cronies at the Justice Department are trying to threaten and intimidate us,» Crow said in a post on X. «Well, he’s picked a fight with the wrong people. I will always uphold my oath to the Constitution.»
«We are not going to back away,» he added in a video message. «Our job, our duty is to make sure that the law is followed. We will not be threatened, we will not be intimidated, and we will not be silenced. I am more emboldened than ever to make sure that I am upholding my duty and I will not back down.»
DEM SENATOR SAYS SHE’S UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OVER ‘UNLAWFUL ORDERS’ VIDEO
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 4, 2025. (Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images)
The controversial video, which was posted in November, featured Crow, Houlahan, Goodlander, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.
All the Democrats who participated in the video, which was slammed as a call to defy President Donald Trump and his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, had military and intelligence backgrounds.
The video was released amid a nationwide debate about Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to various cities across the country.
Trump criticized the video and said in multiple Truth Social posts that the lawmakers who participated in it had engaged in «seditious behavior.»
«It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand — We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET,» the president wrote on Nov. 20.
The same day, Trump wrote in a separate Truth Social post, «SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!»
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR ‘NOT AWARE’ IF TRUMP GAVE ANY ILLEGAL MILITARY ORDERS AMID VIDEO CONTROVERSY
Six Democratic lawmakers, Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, and Repa. Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan and Jason Crow, released a video directed at service members and intelligence officers. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Mark Kelly; Elissa Slotkin; Congress)
The Times reported earlier this week that Pirro’s office sent an email to the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms requesting an interview with Slotkin or her private counsel.
«Facts matter little, but the threat matters quite a bit,» Slotkin told the Times. «The threat of legal action; the threat to your family; the threat to your staff; the threat to you.»
Pirro’s office would not confirm or deny the existence of the probe.
«No matter the threats, I’m not backing down,» Goodlander said in a video posted to X on Wednesday. «It is sad, telling and downright dangerous that simply stating a bedrock principle of American law caused the President, our Commander in Chief, to threaten violence against me and to weaponize the Department of Justice against me.»
President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Dec. 2, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
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«Like my colleagues, I was contacted by federal prosecutors who are investigating me for making a video reminding servicemembers not to follow illegal orders,» Houlahan said in another X post. «The six of us are being targeted not because we said something untrue, but because we said something President Trump and Secretary Hegseth didn’t want anyone to hear.»
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
democratic party,defense,military,donald trump,justice department,politics
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Iran appeared to reopen its airspace on Thursday after a sudden overnight closure disrupted flights across the region, even as airlines largely continued to avoid the country amid heightened security warnings and ongoing regional tensions.
The overnight closure lasted around five hours after a Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, was issued, according to the aviation risk-monitoring site Safe Airspace.
Safe Airspace warns that the main danger for civil aircraft in Iranian airspace is misidentification by air defense systems during heightened tensions, rating the overall risk level currently as «One — Do Not Fly.»
TRUMP SAYS THE U.S. WILL TAKE ‘VERY STRONG ACTION’ AGAINST IRAN IF THE REGIME STARTS HANGING PROTESTERS
Empty airspace over Iran is seen in this screengrab from FlightRadar24 on Jan. 15, 2026, amid heightened tensions and concerns about potential military action between the United States and Iran. (FlightRadar24.com/Handout via REUTERS)
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he was informed the killing of protesters in Iran was «stopping.»
«We have been notified and really strongly, but we’ll find out what that all means. But, we’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping,» he said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., disagreed with Trump, writing on X that every indication he’s seen shows that the Iranian regime’s killing of anti-government protesters is «still very much in full swing.»
«The death toll is mounting by the hour. Hoping that help is on the way,» he wrote.
TRUMP ENVOY REPORTEDLY MEETS WITH EXILED IRANIAN PRINCE AS REGIME FACES PROTESTS
Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which tracks human rights violations in Iran, said on Wednesday that nationwide protests continued into the 18th day as authorities maintained a near-total internet shutdown.
The group’s aggregated figures showed 617 protest gatherings in 187 cities across the country, the arrest of at least 18,470 people and the confirmed deaths of 2,615 individuals.
HRANA said 2,435 of those killed were protesters, including 13 children under the age of 18.
TOP IRANIAN OFFICIAL DOWNPLAYS DEATH TOLL, BLAMES ‘ISRAELI PLOT’ AS US CONSIDERS STRIKES
Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/West Asia News Agency via REUTERS)
Trump has threatened action against the regime, warning Tehran in multiple Truth Social posts to stop killing its people.
«We are locked and loaded and ready to go,» he wrote on New Year’s Day.
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The president said on Tuesday that he had canceled all meetings with Iranian officials and called on protesters to «TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!»
«Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,» Trump wrote, adding, «HELP IS ON ITS WAY.»
iran,world protests,middle east,donald trump
INTERNACIONAL
Cuba cerró 2025 con casi 1.200 presos políticos: el informe que desnuda una represión que no se detiene
Cuba terminó el año 2025 con un saldo alarmante en materia de derechos humanos: 1.197 presos políticos y de conciencia, una cifra que no solo refleja la persistencia de la represión estatal, sino también su profundización.
Así lo revela el informe de cierre anual elaborado por la organización internacional Prisoners Defenders, que documenta 134 nuevas detenciones políticas solo durante 2025, en un contexto marcado por la falta absoluta de garantías judiciales y el uso sistemático del castigo físico y psicológico como herramienta de control social.
“Nuestra lista contiene personas sometidas a sentencias o disposiciones fiscales de privación de libertad sin supervisión judicial, sin debido proceso y sin defensa efectiva”, afirmó Javier Larrondo, presidente de Prisoners Defenders, durante la presentación del informe fechado el 15 de enero de 2026.
No se trata, aclara, de casos aislados ni de excesos individuales, sino de un sistema de persecución estructural que atraviesa todo el aparato estatal cubano.
Según el relevamiento, a lo largo de los doce meses de 2025 pasaron por las cárceles cubanas 1.290 prisioneros políticos, todos ellos sometidos a algún tipo de tortura, tal como la organización ya había demostrado en estudios previos. Solo en diciembre, diez nuevas personas fueron encarceladas —siete hombres y tres mujeres—, la mayoría en el oriente de la isla, acusadas en gran parte por el delito de “propaganda contra el orden constitucional”, una figura penal vaga y recurrente utilizada para criminalizar la disidencia.
El impacto humano de estas cifras es devastador.
Entre los casi 1.200 presos políticos identificados hay 128 mujeres y 32 personas que fueron detenidas siendo menores de edad: 29 varones y tres mujeres. A esto se suma un dato particularmente grave: 464 presos políticos presentan patologías médicas severas y 42 padecen trastornos graves de salud mental, sin recibir atención médica ni psiquiátrica adecuada. “Son dolencias causadas o agravadas deliberadamente por la mala alimentación, los maltratos y la falta de atención médica”, denunció Larrondo.
Uno de los ejes centrales del informe es la condena a 219 manifestantes acusados de “sedición”, con penas que promedian los diez años de cárcel. Entre ellos, 16 fueron detenidos cuando aún eran menores, lo que vuelve a poner en evidencia el incumplimiento sistemático de los compromisos internacionales asumidos por el Estado cubano en materia de protección de la infancia.
Pero el informe no se limita a describir la situación dentro de la isla.
Prisoners Defenders advierte que el modelo represivo cubano se está exportando, particularmente a Venezuela. La organización documentó la muerte de más de 64 militares cubanos integrados al anillo de seguridad del presidente Nicolás Maduro, lo que confirma, según sus investigaciones, la presencia masiva de fuerzas represivas cubanas en territorio venezolano, pese a las reiteradas negaciones oficiales.
“Estamos sumando testimonios sobre torturas diseñadas y ejecutadas por agentes cubanos en Venezuela”, sostuvo Larrondo, quien explicó que los relatos coinciden exactamente con los 15 patrones de tortura ya identificados en cárceles cubanas: agresiones físicas, privación del sueño, posturas forzadas, tortura sexual y amenazas constantes. La metodología, señala el informe, es la misma.
Otro punto clave es lo que Larrondo denomina el “fraude del lenguaje”. Tanto en Cuba como en Venezuela, los gobiernos anuncian “liberaciones” que en realidad son excarcelaciones condicionadas, bajo amenazas y control policial permanente. “No son liberaciones, porque las personas siguen teniendo causas abiertas y condenas vigentes”, remarcó. En Cuba, recuerda el informe, en enero de 2025 el gobierno anunció la liberación de 553 presos, pero solo 219 presos políticos fueron efectivamente excarcelados, sin que ello implicara el fin de la persecución.
El cierre del informe es una interpelación directa a la comunidad internacional. “Basta de normalizar lo inaceptable”, reclamó Larrondo, y exigió a la Unión Europea, a los gobiernos democráticos y a los organismos internacionales medidas concretas, verificables y urgentes. “Las víctimas necesitan protección, visibilidad y justicia”, subrayó, citando incluso la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, que reconoce el derecho a la rebelión frente a la tiranía y la opresión.
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